Not a great day for good football, as it was marred by blatant cheating in two of the three games.

Slovakia 0 – Paraguay 2

Paraguay controlled the early part of the game, and were rewarded on 27. Slovakia couldn’t clear, Paraguay retook possession inside half, and Lucas Barrios fed a perfect pass to Enrique Vera at the top of the box between two Slovakians.  Vera had time for only one touch, but that touch was perfect .. directing the ball into the corner.  The game continued in the same vein, Paraguay controlled, uneventfully.  They created few good chances, until the 86th minute, when Christian Riveros slammed a loose ball at the top of the box past the Slovakian keeper.  The outcome was correct, and the game was entertaining and not controlversial, except perhaps for the Slovakians who will certainly feel they should have played better.

Italy 1 – New Zealand 1

Conventional wisdom was that the All Whites would keep 9 or 10 men behind the ball and play for a draw.  Nope .. New Zealand came out attacking.  They scored on 7′ to take a shocking lead. A free kick from 45 yards out near the touch line was beautifully delivered into the center of the box, misplayed by Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro, and slotted home by Kiwi Shane Smeltz. The ball may have brushed a Kiwi head, which would have put Smeltz offside. Far more controversial was the very soft penalty given on 29′. Italian Daniele DiRossi conned the referee, and Vicente Iaquinta converted.  The second half had some exciting moments, most favoring the Azzurri, but none were converted as the Kiwi goalie and back line were resolute.

The Group F final day (Thurs 24-June) certainly looks interesting. Paraguay controls the group, but all except Slovakia ensure advancement with a win on Thursday (24-June), and Slovakia can advance with a win against Italy and some help from Paraguay.

Brazil 3 – Ivory Coast 1

This is one of the most anticipated group stage games, because both teams are just so talented.  But the Brazilians dominated the game, with the Ivorians making few meaningful attacks until they were down 3-0 early in the second half.  The first Brazilian goal on 25′ was simply gorgeous, as Luis Fabiano, Kaka and Robinho had a wonderful passing interlude before Kaka put Fabiano in and he put it away cleanly.  The second goal early in the second half was pretty, but marred by the (dirty cheat) Fabiano handling the ball TWICE while cutting across the top of the area and banging a very nice strike. Kaka had a hand in the third goal on 62′ – he got the ball on the left wing, ran at Kolo Toure, got to the byline and sent a nice cross to Elano, who had the easiest finish of the tournament. Ivory Coast prima donna Didier Drogba scored on 80′ when beat the Brazilian offside trap and nicely headed in a Yaya Toure cross from dead center 10 yards out.

Near the end came serious controversy, as Kaka got two yellows 3 minutes apart and was sent off.  Problem is, the second one was totally undeserved, as Ivorian defender Keita ran at Kaka and feigned an elbow in the face.  The cheating was obvious to everyone on the field except French referee Stephane Lannoy, who gave the second yellow. It was the final act in a whole series of play acting and faking by both sides.

In a delicious bit of justice, if Portugal beat North Korea tomorrow, Kaka’s missing the final Brazilian game against Portugal will work against Ivory Coast, as to advance they need to beat North Korea and Brazil needs to beat Portugal and between them overcome goal difference.

And then the French …

Perhaps the French referee was distracted by the craziness with his national side, who are self-destructing! There has been trouble for several years, but it has bubbled over in the merciless pressure caused by their poor performance.

Apparently, at halftime of the loss to Mexico on Thurs (17-June), diva Nicolas Anelka had harsh words for coach Raymond Domenech. Someone inside the dressing room leaked the substance of the exchange to the media. Anelka refused to apologize, and so was then booted off the team and sent home on Saturday. Patrice Evra, the captain, spoke publicly and bitterly criticized the traitor who leaked the halftime incident.

On Sunday, the players, led by Evra, refused to train in protest of Anelka’s dismissal.  Evra got into it with the team trainer Robert Duverne, who threw down his stopwatch and World Cup credential and apparently resigned.  Then the Managing Director of the French Football Federation Jean-Louis Valentin spoke to the assembled press and also resigned, citing his shame at the refusal of the players to train. The players released a statement (read by Domenech to the press!) indicating the reason for their protest: the lack of FFF support for Anelka.

They play on Tuesday against the hosts. They need to beat South Africa by several, and for Mexico and Uruguay to not tie in order to advance. This is actually very possible, given that neither Mexico or Uruguay particularly like each other or are inclined to pack it in defensively.  But collusion has happened before.

I am not much into schadenfreude, but I am enjoying this. There isn’t much about the French to like in recent years; they manage to play poorly and whine incessantly while being condescending and arrogant. Domenech should have gone after their pitiful performance at Euro 2008.

Netherlands 1 – Japan 0

This outcome of this game was as expected, although the Dutch did not look all that good. They really miss Arjen Robben. Japan was clearly overmatched, but their defensive discipline along with the Dutch fear of the counter meant few chances. Oranje pressure increased, and they scored on 53′ when Wesley Sneijder blasted one past Japanese goalie Kawashima after a poor clearance fell to Robin van Persie.  Some have said that Kawashima should have stopped it, but I don’t agree.  The game opened up after the goal with Japan throwing men forward.

Netherlands on 6 points will advance from Group E, although if they lose to Cameroon on Thursday (24-June) they could go in second place on goal difference.  It appears that Robben may get some time against Cameroon, and will likely be ready for the first elimination match.

Ghana 1 – Australia 1

This World Cup is just a horror show for Australia.  Their best player (Tim Cahill) gets a soft red in their first game, and the unfortunate Harry Kewell gets a tough red for handball on the line in this game.  The resulting penalty tied the score.  Australia had taken the lead when Brett Holman converted a kind rebound from a free kick just outside of the box.  Kingson, the Ghana keeper, should have done better managing the free kick, which wasn’t particularly challenging despite a bounce.

After going to 10 men, Australia played well and held on to the point.  Mark Schwartzer (the stellar Aussie goalie) rose to the occasion and had a tremendous game. And Australia had some dangerous attacks as well, so they have some reason to be confident going into their last match.

Ghana is in control of Group D after Serbia beat Germany yesterday.  Somehow the Socceroos may still advance if they beat Serbia on Weds (23-June) and Ghana beats the Germans.  The latter is IMHO more likely than the former, particularly with Cahill and Kewell both out.

Cameroon 1 – Denmark 2

Cameroon has been a disappointment, and are eliminated.  There is a tremendous amount of talent on the team, but they have been utterly unsuccessful. This game was fun to watch, however. Denmark gifted Cameroon a goal on 10′, although from the way Eto’o pranced around you would have thought it had been his achievement!  Cameroon had a few more opportunities over the next 20 minutes but couldn’t convert them.  The Danes didn’t lose their composure, eventually figured the Indominable Lions pressure out, and the game was on.  On 32′ a gorgeous Denmark long ball got Dennis Rommedahl behind Assou-Ekotto; Rommedahl crossed nicely to Nicklas Bendtner, who put it away.  Both defenses looked shaky as the entertaining first half ended.  Cameroon generated plenty of good chances in the second half, but couldn’t put any away.  On the other side, Dennis Rommedahl, who had been giving the Cameroon defense fits with his speed, was given far too much space on the right wing, cut inside, and curled a nice left foot strike from 12 yards out on the post.  The rest of the game was just as entertaining, as both teams had multiple chances but didn’t convert. Both goalies made some nice saves.

The game was well officiated, although it wasn’t particularly challenging as both teams remained composed and controlled, and didn’t dive or whine. I thought Cameroon was denied a clear penalty on 48′ when Assou-Ekotto was taken down in the area, but the referee didn’t think so, nor did the commentators, and Cameroon didn’t complain.

Group E is now a typical big tournament group. Netherlands is through, Cameroon is out, and the two middle teams (Japan and Denmark) play for advancement on Thursday (24-June). On paper one would favor Denmark to win, but if they draw Japan advances on goal difference. The goal gifted to Cameroon may yet haunt them!  I’m watching this one!

About the Kewell Red Card …

The rules are clear.  Some (including me) dispute whether Kewell “intentionally played the ball with his hand”, but the (very experienced) referee Roberto Rossetti clearly thought he did, and was nicely positioned to see it.  Once that decision is made, the penalty kick is mandated, as is the sending off for “denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity”, aka DOGSO.  This is where I don’t like the rules.  IMHO a sending off is too harsh for this kind of situation, as it is in the kind of situation where a goalie takes down a player in the box going for the ball.  I think the referee should have the discretion to give yellow instead of red in DOGSO circumstances where a penalty is also awarded.

Germany 0 – Serbia 1

Wow .. talk about throwing a monkey wrench in the group!

The Germans went to 10 men on 37′ because Klose didn’t adjust to the referee being card-happy and got two yellows.  But the real reason that they lost was that they couldn’t finish. Podolski missed a penalty, and the Germans missed 5 or 6 great chances.  It almost looked like they “shot their wad” in the first game.

Slovenia 2 – USA 2

I am not sure how to feel about this game.  USA showed great poise and composure coming back, and should be proud of that.  But they should never have been down in the first place.  USA was the better team, but mental errors gave two goals away.  This game is certainly a story of what might have been …

The Slovenian goals were from bad defensive lapses.  On the first, Birsa was given plenty of time and space in the middle at about 25 yards, and calmly deposited the ball in the corner. Howard could do nothing as he was screened and caught by surprise.  On the second, USA ran the offside trap poorly (Onyewu …) and a nicely timed pass put Ljubijankic in behind everyone.

Landon Donovan scored a beautiful goal early in the second half, closing in from a terrible angle on the right and roofing the shot.   Michael Bradley scored the equalizer on a nice run and header from Altidore.  Maurice Edu scored an apparent winner from a beautiful Donovan free kick, but it was waved off by the referee.  The reason for the whistle is not clear. No USA player was offside, and there was no substantial pushing and shoving in the box. The FIFA play-by-play appears to say that Edu committed a foul, but he looked to be the only player in the box not touching anyone!

The referee was horrible.  Although the single biggest bad call in the match nullified the USA winning goal, the ref was terrible both ways.  Dempsey should have been cautioned for his early elbow.  Robbie Findlay will miss the next USA game due to a phantom yellow card (intentional handball, when the ball hit his face). And there were plenty of poor fouls called throughout the game.  I don’t want to think about conspiracies, but rather suspect that Mr. Koman Coulibaly (from Mali) was just in over his head.

One interesting theory (supported by the quick whistle) is that Coulibaly decided that the original foul was harsh and was negating it rather than calling anything specific in the scrum. Not an unreasonable thought .. I have done similar things refereeing water polo matches.

England 0 – Algeria 0

This wasn’t a great game to watch.  England was better, but not a lot better, and they didn’t have much venom in their attack. To thrash a metaphor, none of the Lions had very sharp teeth.  Wayne Rooney was basically AWOL, and Steven Gerrard was involved but couldn’t get things going for the team. Algeria had some defensive brilliance and some offensive opportunities, but they also missed rather than being denied.

This was the best possible result for the USA. They should be optimistic, and have every reason to believe they can beat Algeria and advance.

Group C Advancement Analysis

Great group!  All four teams can still advance, and Algeria is the only team that needs help. Algeria advances if they beat the USA and Slovenia beats England. The USA advances with a win over Algeria, or a draw and an England loss against Slovenia. England advances if they win. Slovenia advances with a win or draw against England.

If both games on Wednesday are draws, Slovenia advance, Algeria goes home, and FIFA tiebreaker decides which of England or the USA advance. USA holds the advantage because of the extra goal scored.

If Algeria beats the USA and England beats Slovenia, England wins the group and Slovenia or Algeria advance depending on goal difference. Stupidly, the FIFA tie-break rules don’t consider the head-to-head match, which in this particular case Slovenia won handily.

Well, the goals are coming faster …

Argentina 4 – South Korea 1

Not a whole lot to say, other than kudos to South Korea for getting one!  Gonzalo Higuain banged a hat trick, and showed why Maradona played him ahead of Diego Milito, the leading scorer in Serie A.

Maradona is looking less crazy and more wily.  I think he is pulling a Mourinho .. keeping the focus on him and not on the players. That said, expectations are high … .

Greece 2 – Nigeria 1

This was a pretty good game early; Nigeria took the lead with an early goal. But Nigerian Sani Kaita lost his composure in the 33rd minute, kicked out at Greek Vassilis Torosidis, and received the obligatory red card.  I find it ridiculous that in Soccer such a trivial offense results in exclusion (contrast to my sport .. water polo), but it does and everyone knows it.  The referee could have shown yellow, but was perfectly justified in showing red.

The Nigerian goalie, who had a wonderful opening game, allowing an unnecessary rebound that was put in by Torosidis.

France 0 – Mexico 2

WOW! I was expecting a tight draw, like Portugal/Ivory Coast. But Mexico simply outplayed France.  IMHO the first Mexican goal should have been disallowed for offside, but it was VERY close and Mexico was deserving of the goal.  The second El Tri goal was from a justly earned spot kick, nicely taken by Mexican hero Cuactemoc Blanco, a second half sub.

France is done, unless Mexico/Uruguay is a close win either way, and France beats South Africa by enough to go on goal difference ahead of the loser.

Today was an amazing day in the tournament.

Honduras 0 – Chile 1

Interesting match on paper, but (as of now) it has been sacrificed to the need to support the family! I hope to catch up (and update the post) over the weekend.

Spain 0 – Switzerland 1

This is one of those uniquely soccer results, because the Spaniards really did outplay the Swiss; the Swiss put one of their very few chances away while the Spanish failed to convert a great many more. In typical Spanish fashion they whined about the referee, but Mr. Webb and his team got the big decisions right.

I won’t go so far as to say I called this match, but I knew that Spain was going to get a game from the Swiss.

South Africa 0 – Uruguay 3

This result surprised me.  I am not surprised that Uruguay won, but I am surprised that they gave the Bafana Bafana such a thumping.

The third goal put Uruguay in a great position to advance from Group A, which will likely require the tie-breaking rules be consulted.  The France-Mexico match tomorrow (17-June) is now even more intriguing!

New Zealand 1 – Slovakia 1

The Kiwis snatched a last minute draw despite being dominated by the Slovakians.  The Slovakian goal on 50′ was marginally offside, but the goal was deserved nonetheless.  The Kiwi goal on 93′ was only their second real chance of the match!  But a point is a point (BTW .. the first NZL point ever in a World Cup final), and  Group F is 100% tied.  Slovakia let one get away, and may very well keep them from advancing.

Ivory Coast 0 – Portugal 0

We saw a typical Cristiano Ronaldo performance in this game.  He made brilliant runs withe the ball, launched a few beautiful free kicks, and flopped and dove and whined.  There weren’t many opportunities as both teams were defensive and careful.  The early part of the second half was more active, with a few chances, none of them great, but the energy waned as the match moved on and the rain came harder.  The referee overall had a good game, although he was conned once by Ronaldo (who bounced the resulting free kick off the crossbar).  I think the ref figured out it was a dive, because shortly thereafter Ronaldo got a harsh yellow for dissent (or unsporting behavior?) after he was fouled!

Unless one of them can manage to take a point from Brazil, whichever of these two has higher goal difference in the Brazil and North Korea matches will advance.  Should be an interesting group next week!

Brazil 2 – North Korea 1

This struck me as a typical Brazilian performance of late.  Brilliant technical soccer, stretches of amazing passing, team work and creativity, and defensive indifference. Both Brazilian goals were dazzling, particularly the Elano goal that put them up 2-0.

I think the referee did a nice job, EXCEPT that he did not punish a number of rough challenges that would have been yellow in any of the preceding matches in this tournament.  At one point he pointed out to Luciano 3 previous fouls he had committed, and rather than caution he told him to knock it off.

Netherlands 2 – Denmark 0

The Dutch totally controlled this game, but their attack really didn’t have much sharpness. Their first goal was an own goal manufactured by Robin van Persie, and their second was a nice run and shot by the sub Elia which bounced off the post and onto the foot of Dirk Kuyt.  Wesley Sneijder, among the best playmakers in the game, was nowhere to be found.  The Danes were simply unable to control the ball or the game.

The Dutch are (rightfully) among the favorites in the tournament, particularly if Arjen Robben is able to return from his hamstring injury.  They missed his pace and his ability to make things happen.  But I don’t like their approach or their lack of discipline.  Heitenga and De Jong are thugs, and Sneijder and van Bronckhorst are subject to petulance and pique that can get them in trouble.

Japan 1 – Cameroon 0

The wonderfully named “indomitable Lions” surprisingly lost to Japan on a goal on 42′ from Keisuke Honda. All of a sudden Japan has a fighting chance to advance .. if they beat Denmark, which seems very possible after the poor Danish performance against the Dutch, they advance.

I haven’t been able to watch this game .. something’s gotta give!  I haven’t deleted it, and will update it soon if I get a chance. The Christian Science Monitor has an interesting review.

Italy 1 – Paraguay 1

Italy did not impress. One of the commentators said that Paraguay did an Italy to Italy, and I agree!  Paraguay packed the defense and was careful not to over-commit on attack. Italy saw a lot of the ball, but could not muster any serious opportunities.  Both goals were from set pieces .. the Paraguayan was a nicely placed free kick nicely headed in .. the Italian was a corner that the goalie should have grabbed, but which fell to DeRossi’s toe and was poked in. Paraguay has every reason to come out of this game comfident, and Italy should be worried.

The Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon, among the best in the world, was removed at half-time with an injury. Apparently he is having sciatic nerve problems, and is not (as of the time of this writing) likely to play again. I feel for they guy, having dealt with 18 months of back problems over the last 8 years.  Tough loss for the Italians.

Algeria 0 – Slovenia 1

This first half of this game was enjoyable.  Algeria held their own in possession, but Slovenia had the more menacing attack.  The Algerian goalie did well to keep them in the game.  In the 3rd minute was the first free kick that was actually brought down over the wall and onto goal.

The second half was less entertaining, but more eventful.  The Algerian Ghazzel came on at 58′, got a silly yellow for a shirt pull at 60′, and an even sillier second yellow foe a deliberate handball on 73′.  However, Slovenia didn’t make much of it, and the only goal came from a goalkeeping blunder, which was ironic given how well the Slovenian goalie played otherwise.  It wasn’t as bad as the “Hand of Clod“, but it was bad.

I think a draw would have been a more just outcome, and would have been a better one for the USA. Slovenia is not in the driver seat in Group C, although the road is rough.  They get two points from England and the USA they should advance.

Serbia 0 – Ghana 1

Given the small size of both countries, this game had a surprising number of very high level players, and the quality of play reflected it.  The referee allowed some rough play early on, and the match got “chippy” as a result.  Ghana looked better in the first half, but both sides generated a good chances in the first half.  The game got more physical in the second half, and there were far fewer chances.

The game got interesting when the Serb defender Lukovic was (properly) sent off for a second hard challenge. The Serbian attack actually got more potent short a man, and they had the best of the action for a while.  Then game got fascinating when the Serb Kuzmanovic stuck out his arm to deflect a cross in the box and a PK was awarded.  Asamoah Gyan converted, scoring the first African goal in the first African World Cup, and giving Ghana the first African victory.

A number of commentators have indicated that Serbia was unlucky. I disagree. The sending off was justified, and was coming due to the rough Serbian defending.  The handball was a bad mistake, but had the cross gotten to it’s target a goal was quite possible.

Germany 4 – Australia 0

Germany was fabulous, Australia wasn’t. It is good for Germany that Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, who had poor club seasons, both scored in the first half. The Germans moved well, passed well, and generated eight to ten great chances that didn’t score. After Tim Cahill was sent off, the game became hard for me to watch.

This was the first game where I wasn’t impressed with the officiating, although it was irrelevant to the outcome. Cahill’s red card was really, really harsh, and followed a series of soft cautions to the Australians. A number of more dangerous challenges earlier in the tournament resulted in only yellow.  I suspect the Aussie’s rep combined with the FIFA direction to be harsh on rough play led the referee to be draconian. I also think Australia should have a penalty at 48′ for the handball in the box.